Monday, December 17, 2007

Over the past month, I’ve been working on a mini-documentary for Current TV’s initiative, “The Current Election 08: What’s Your Issue?” For those of you who don’t know, Current TV is Al Gore’s cable news channel and website for the 18-34 demographic. I decided to address the issue of gay marriage by profiling my high school friend and his boyfriend.

In many ways, this doc is a big milestone for me. It’s my first documentary, the first film I’ve made with my own equipment, the first time I’ve shot and lit each and every scene. But even working as a “one-man show,” I had tons of help. First and foremost, I’d like to thank Trent and Greg for letting me into their lives and for not minding the personal questions and the ever-present camera. As you’ll see, these guys have something truly special, and they showed me what a loving, committed relationship could be like. Second, I’d like to thank Nathan Kurisu, Trent and Greg’s friend, for having the courage to stand up for his beliefs and for offering them humbly. Thanks to Sumi Somaskanda at Current for guiding me through the process and to Danielle Lurie, John Jackson, and Matt Dyer for watching cut after millionth cut. Thanks to maestro Jack Conte for his brilliant music, and Leon Tsikitikosfor pulling an all-nighter on my behalf.

I’m really proud of this project, and people are responding well to it. Yesterday evening, Current offered to purchase my documentary to broadcast on their cable news station. They are also considering me to join their team at the New Hampshire primaries from January 4-8.

This summer, I spent lots of time traveling and hanging out with the people who meant the most to me. After graduating from Stanford in June, I spent a month in Saratoga Springs at the New York State Summer Writer’s Institute. I studied fiction under bestselling authors like Rick Moody and hung out with gifted Stanford writers Alicia Dennis, Annie Wyman, and Ly Chheng. Meanwhile, I lived in a charming apartment with Krystle Nowhitney, who introduced me to the pleasures of Saratogan life and helped me solve practical mysteries like how to shop for groceries, how to clean an apartment, and how to live on $100 a week. And, amazingly, Paco Torres came to visit!

After my writing program finished, I spent 10 days in New York City with Catherine Ho, Barrett Sheridan, and my parents. We checked out New York’s food offerings, its secret clubs, and best of all, Broadway! I saw a Broadway show every day I was in NY. My favorites were SPRING AWAKENING, LEGALLY BLONDE, and RENT. I also stopped at B&H Photo and Video so that I could make an important purchase: a new HD video camera, the Canon HV-20.

With my new camera in tow, I drove up to NorCal for a week-long roadtrip. Shamala Gallagher and I visited Professor Tallent and her family in Fort Bragg. We scoped out the dock for fresh albacore tuna, walked the pristine beaches, hiked up to a pygmy forest (a first for me!), and relaxed in the Mendocino Spaworks. Then I spent a couple days with friends and family in Stanford and San Francisco before driving to Yosemite to see Jack Loveridge. It was my first visit to a national park, but I wasn’t too impressed. The best thing about it was the clarity of the night sky, a surprise bowling upset, staying up late to talk in the car with the seats reclined.

The last trip I took was to Maui with my family. I’ve never felt so pampered. I was constantly eating tropical fish, reading poolside, and shopping at the wharf. I don’t think there’s anything more luxurious than reading by the pool while hotel attendants come around spooning cantaloupe slices into your open palm. I also became obsessed with spam sandwiches rolled with rice and seaweed. They were sold at the hotel gift shop, and I ate about 10 of them.

DVDs: THE SQUID AND THE WHALE; THE LIVES OF OTHERS; ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW

3. Living, Working, and Writing in LA

Since the end of August, I have been living and working in West LA. I am staying in a sweet two-bedroom apartment in the Westwood area with my friends Mike Wong and Katherine Felsburg. Our living situation has been quite harmonious. Mike often prepares delicious meals for us, and we sit around the table (more often the TV) and have meals like a family. Yesterday night we watched LUST, CAUTION at the ArcLight, then this morning we went to the Santa Monica farmer’s market for omelettes. My sister, Camille Tagle, is also back at UCLA for her second year, so the two of us are once more wreaking havoc in the same zip code.

For the past few months, I have been working at the Jim Preminger Agency, a boutique literary and talent agency five minutes from my apartment. I am the assistant to literary agent Dean Schramm. On a typical day, I answer phones, send out scripts, and file papers. When things aren’t too busy, I have time to do a little of my own writing as well. The office is closing on October 31, so I am in the process of looking for a new job.

My writing has been going pretty well. For the past month, I’ve been writing a new short film script called BEAR about a mother and son dealing with grief. Last week, I submitted this script to the BlueCat Screenwriting Lab. I am now working on a new short that links two of my favorite topics: sex and death. In the winter, I plan to finish revisions on ENCANTADO, and spring will hopefully see the first draft of a screenplay based on my novel.

Welcome to Staglevision, my new blog. I plan to update frequently with film footage, photography, writing, character fragments, quotes, invitations, and random thoughts. This blog will remain operational while my website undergoes renovation. Check out the material I've posted so far. Leave comments on entries you like, entries that remind you of things you’ve experienced, entries you'd like to see more of.

5. New Contact Information

My Stanford email account is expiring, so please note my new Gmail address on the Facebook, effective immediately. My email signature always includes my most up-to-date contact information. Please send me packages, letters, emails, Facebook messages, and IMs, or call me to keep me updated on your life story. I am always happy to hear from you and will gladly reciprocate if you take the effort to contact me. And for those of you living in LA or visiting southern California, call me so we can get together and hang out.

Welcome to Staglevision, my new blog. I plan to update frequently with film footage, photography, writing, character fragments, quotes, invitations, and random thoughts. This blog will remain operational while my website undergoes renovation.

Thanks for stopping by! Check out the material I've posted so far. Leave me comments to let me know what you're up to, what you'd like to see on the blog.

That the first draft is a grimy lens through which everything you see is blurry, obscured. In each subsequent draft, you strive for clarity, focusing and refocusing, wiping away the grime until the image is true.

Written, Directed, and Produced by Steven TagleCinematography by Tracy Vo

How far would you go to keep a friend? When Barrett (Sean Howell) returns from his first quarter at college, his best friend, Benji (Nick Farrell), attempts to pull him back into the fantastic, insular world of their childhood where games prevail and rules are meant to be broken. The two friends transform Barrett’s new dress socks into a wolf puppet and a boy puppet and quickly adopt these personas. But when the game playing gets out of hand, the boys must use the puppets to confront their fears about life after high school, growing up, and possibly growing apart.

Written, Directed, and Produced by Steven TagleCinematography by Jeff Orlowski

Life at Jack’s Lounge is never what it seems, especially with the unexpected arrival of Audrey (Margaret Gabriel), a strikingly independent female patron. When young bartender Sam (Paul Rodrigues) falls in love with this mysterious beauty, he uncovers a web of lies and deceit that he must struggle to overcome if their relationship is to survive.

Written, Directed, and Produced by Steven TagleCinematography by Jack Conte

Tired of waiting for the perfect man to sweep her off her feet, scientist Adena Logan (Leah Elise Bailey) constructs a wind-up robot lover (Barrett Sheridan) in the basement of her small suburban home. Adena teaches Simon everything he needs to be the perfect partner: how to open doors, how to hold hands, how to kiss. But as their relationship deepens, Adena must prove to herself that Simon can genuinely love.

Monday, May 7, 2007

On Tuesday, June 5 at 6:30 pm, I will be reading from my new novel in the Terrace Room in Margaret Jacks Hall (Bldg. 460, Room 426). The event will also feature an art exhibition by Robert Negrete, the artist who has been working with me to illustrate various moments from the novel. The reading will last approximately one hour, and then refreshments will be served.

ENCANTADO is a coming-of-age novel that I have written as my creative honors thesis in Feminist Studies. The novel follows the adventures of Simon Knight, a young man who develops the ability to shapeshift during his senior year of high school. By engaging feminist theory and the origin stories of mainstream superheroes like Superman and Batman, my novel explores the myths surrounding masculinity and male friendship.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

I just wanted to let you know in advance that on Tuesday, June 5 at 6:30pm , I will be reading from my new novel in the Terrace Room in Margaret Jacks Hall (Bldg. 460, Room 426). The event will also feature an art exhibition by Robert Negrete, the artist who has been working with me to illustrate various moments from the novel. The reading will last approximately one hour, and then refreshments will be served.

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About Me

Steven Tagle is a recent Stanford graduate with BAs in English and psychology. His writing interests include: touring erotic museums, making sock puppets, and teaching robots to love. He works diligently to increase his Googleability, picks the vegetables out of his fried rice, and uses the excuse "I need to revise my play," to escape exercise and drunken parties. He is currently working on a novel.